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Rome was an HBO series that aired from 2005 to 2007, and was a co-production of HBO and BBC. The series is set in the first century AD as Rome transforms from a Republic to an Empire.

There is a great deal to like about this mini-series. The look of the series is lush even when viewed on standard DVD discs. The production is superb, with an obvious effort to shoot as much as possible in Italy. And although the events portrayed in Rome have varying degrees of authenticity in terms of participants and timing, the show is basically accurate in its portrayal of Roman politic lifestyle, and brutality.

Rome chronicles the adventures of Titas Pullo and Lucius Vorunus, two Roman soldiers that often are at the right place at the right time. Their good luck are eventually noticed by Caesar, and they progress upwards through Roman ranks to witness in key historical events including the Roman conquest of Gaul, Caesars civil war, the assassination of Caesar, the introduction and rise of Octavian to become Augustus, and Augustus’ battle with Marc Antony.

As in many HBO series, the acting in Rome is phenomenal. Ray Stevenson and Kevin McKidd do a fantastic job portraying Pullo and Vorunus, and Ciarán Hinds (pictured) is completely believable as Caesar, a politician that excercised his desire for pleasing the people as well as himself. James Purefoy is a delight to watch as Marc Antony, and Tobias Menzies excels as Brutus. The rest of the support cast do an amazing job in bringing the desires and motivations or key historical figures to life.

The series was not renewed at the end of the second season due to the prohibitive cost of producing it (aka Deadwood). Although a film was promised and looked like it was going forward in early 2010, there has been little word on when or if it will be completed. I hope so, I’d like to see more.